Team STRM
by Eternal Creation
Summary: Follow a team of oddballs, led by a powerful Huntress in training to see if they are capable of living up to the expectations set before them.
1. Chapter 1

**Team STRM**

Second Year at Beacon Academy and it was almost time for the Vytal Festival. I'd been sent on so many missions since the start of the semester that I had training pretty much down, most of which were just clearing out grim from around villages and hunting down unlawful types that were threatening the peace of the realm. Finally back at beacon I stripped off my battle garb and stepped into the shower for the first time in a week. I had the dorm to myself until morning when my team was to return, just in time for the first round.

The water felt great as it ran through my hair and done the length of my body. I washed quickly and was back out to get ready for bed in less than five minutes. Wiping away the fog from the mirror I saw my gray head of hair slicked back by the water, the four black highlights a little less noticeable as my hair ran down to my mid back. Yellow eyes stared back and examined everything about the figure in the glass as I brushed out my hair and teeth before bed. "Time for bed Mirror," I grabbed my black pajama pants, switched off the lights in the dorm and slammed into the bed, falling asleep before my feet left the ground.

The Vytal Festival, a floating arena capable of holding most of the city of Vale and capable of broadcasting all over Remnant with vendors beneath it keeping visitors of the kingdom entertained between fights. Professor Oobleck and Port were announcing this year and were having a good time doing it. Team RWBY had just defeated team ABRN, well defeat was a loose term. The fight had been a mess and while team RWBY had… decent coordination, they still had a long way to go and I doubted they would last much longer in the tournament. The heiress was as extravagant in her fighting as she was in her singing.

"About time we found you," I heard a familiar voice say nearby as a weight landed on my shoulders.

"Mir's back!" Tawny said as she played with my hair. The girl was short and light weight and was the wildest member of our team, unlike her twin, River. Her hair was shoulder length and she wore hard leather armor to keep herself light weight. River was everything Tawny wasn't, calm collected and always moving in one direction, only deviating when something stopped her. She wore a very similar armor to Tawny; the only difference was the highlights. Tawnys were orange and Rivers were a blue that changed with her mood. Both girls were about four and a half feet tall, making tawny easy to carry on my shoulders.

"Tawny please don't be ridiculous in public," River said pulling on her sisters arm.

I didn't pay any mind; I was so used to Tawny constantly being on my shoulders that not having her there was weird. I focused on our leader; at five feet and four inches she sported a set of slender plate armor without a helmet that was kept polished and sharp. She stared at me with white eyes that couldn't hide what she felt within. Her pitch black hair was short and unkempt save the K9 ears that protruded.

"It's good to see you safe Mir. I trust your mission went smoothly then?" she said coming to stand beside me.

"It went off without a hitch, nothing more than a gang of Ursa. It took some time to isolate them far enough away from the packs of beowolfs that were hanging around but otherwise it was a cakewalk," I nudged her shoulder and smiled. "Thanks for going out of your way,"

She lifted an armored gauntlet to my shoulder and patted it. "It wasn't a big deal. We had barely gotten off the airship when I got your call. Although the pilots didn't really appreciate the sudden storm that appeared when it was supposed to be a clear day,"

Everyone laughed at that. And Tawny stopped playing with my hair and rested on my head. "It was really funny seeing them react to all the lightning. I saw one of them snuggle up to his ship. He even kicked at a stray bolt when it landed close by," Tawny announced. River covered her mouth with the back of her hand but couldn't suppress the giggling no matter how hard she tried.

We watched as team ABRN and RWBY left the arena and a team of officials came out of their stations around the side of the ring. Using their scrolls they reset the arena blocks while others fixed up the holes on the center platform using dust and other tools and machinery.

"What about you, girls? How was your mission?" I asked looking at each one in turn. River was the first to speak.

"It went easily enough. There were a few incidents where the white fang attacked the freight. But we held them off easily enough, especially since they were reluctant to attack another Faunus-"

"The white fang…" Silvers hand clenched into a fist and I glanced her way just in case. "They used to be so noble in their quest for equality. Now they're just a bunch of angry and misguided souls feeding of the hatred of their leaders." It was my turn to be the comforter and placed a hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention my way.

"One day the white fang will go back to its peaceful ways, but it is us humans who must take the first step. The Faunus tried to take the first step, but we were not ready. One day, in OUR lifetimes, I assure you there will be equality… even if we have to make it so."

She unclenched her fist after a moment and sighed. "I know I say this a lot, but you were the first human I ever trusted, Mir. Thank you for accepting me into your pack." I grinned at her and nodded. I turned back to River and she reluctantly continued the story.

"The Grim however were the real problem. At random intervals they would attack in large hordes. One of them almost made the train flip. It was Silver who saved the day using her semblance to magnetize the train to the tracks."

"It was AWESOME, the train started tipping, and we were like, 'Oh no,' but then Silver was like," Tawny's speech degenerated into a bunch of electric and crashing sounds for a good thirty seconds before River slapped her sister over the head.

At that moment professor Port came over the intercom to announce the next match up. "Please come to the arena team STRM and team RAVN!" We all looked up in unison to see our faces on one of the screens and looked back and forth to each other.

"Alright time to be a team again," I said standing up straight and turning to Silver.

"We are always a team no matter how far away we are," River said standing beside me and grinning.

"She's right. No let's show them what we can do," With that Silver led the way through the corridors leading to the arena entry. As we walked Tawny never left my shoulders, preferring to take a short nap while we walked, or I walked. We made a quick stop at the contestant lockers and gathered our weapons before entering the arena, where the other team stood waiting.

I sized each of them up as we approached. All of them wore regular clothing that was either mostly black or had black accents. One of them used a clever style weapon that looked as if it doubled as a shotgun. The others used a lance that I couldn't see a gun part anywhere, nunchucks that were laced with red dusted, and a pair of reverse grip baton with large blades attached to the long end.

Silver was wielding her large spear and shield, both polished to perfection on my right. River was stretching her azure leather gloves over her hands and tightening them around her wrists. Tawny remained unconscious no matter what I did to wake her so I let her be. River would no doubt wake her once the battle started. My tonto tip machete stayed strapped to my side, I didn't want to use my masterpiece if I didn't have to.

Oobleck and port were talking to the audience and getting the pumped up for the match when the screens appeared around the battle field and started spinning to choose our landscapes. I tried once more to wake Tawny but once she was asleep she wasn't one to wake up. The first landscape was the grasslands. Tall grass rose from the ground tall enough to cover even my 6' 4" frame. The one at our backs ended up being the mountains with a storm at the top. Silver and I exchanged a glance before I shared one with River.

"3… 2… 1… Fight!" Professor Port shouted.

Team Raven charged forward and took one of us each, except me who got two. We backed off, Silver getting close to me to help defend against my two assailants. Tawny suddenly disappeared from my shoulders and the next thing I know she smashed into the three attackers that Silver was holding off. River was dodging easily around the guy with the cleaver, using one hand only on occasions where she couldn't dodge the attacks. The other was behind her back and I could see her moving her fingers as if she was moving a puppet. I turned back to Silver and found Tawny, still asleep moving through the air back towards me. I caught her and grabbed Silver by her collar and pulled her backwards as the baton wielder charged forward with the lance holder. "Get to the mountain," I shouted tossing Silver over my head and jumping away from the attackers.

Crackling sounds behind me made me duck and a moment later a wave of electricity smashed into the ground where I had been, blasting the spear and baton guys backwards. A moment later Tawny sprung from my arms and turned to her sister. "You did that on purpose didn't you!" she took out her orange leather gloves tightened them like River before reaching out to her and pulling back. Immediately River shot backwards away from her opponent, flipping through the air and landing lightly beside Tawny.

"Well maybe if you had woken up when Mir tried I wouldn't have to throw you into people," River responded calmly. I heard Oobleck start talking about what River and Tawny's semblance was.

"As twins they share a semblance, and in their case their connection manifests itself as a puppet like connection between the two of them, making it an easy matter for them to throw each other around at will," his spastic speech was always amusing to me.

"Team RAVN has made a mistake that could cost them the match. Silver's semblance allows her to channel lightning and electricity as form of attack. If RAVN wants to have a chance they are going to need to separate team STRM from their perch," Port announced.

I now stood at the head of my team Tawny and River were at my sides, slightly behind while Silver remained elevated on the mountain, using the storm as a means of covering us. Our opponents regrouped and changed their weapons into their gun forms. The nunchucks connected into a large rifle with twin barrels. He took aim above my head as the rest of the team charged forward. The cleaver holder went after River again while the spearman attacked Tawny. The baton guy charged me but I was ready for him. I had seen enough of his movements that I knew him. Before he was halfway to me I charged him in a similar manner and we met in the middle. Every move he made I mirrored perfectly as he made it. Blocking all his attacks and attacking in turn. I didn't have his batons so my attacks were adapted for hand to hand combat and every strike was timed and placed perfectly so that he couldn't guard or dodge. He was completely flustered and out of his element. After all who is ever ready to fight themselves?

I kicked him away and dropped into his stance. He hesitated long enough for me to glance at the twins and see how they were holding up. Of course as per usual they were playing with their opponent, using their semblance to switch between their assailants and to do unexpected attacks. River dodged away and before she could finish her back flip, Tawny flew over her and delivered a powerful kick to the cleaver guy's sternum, sending him to the ground breathless. The spearman was on River as her feet hit the ground. Dropping to her knees she dodged his first attack and spun out of the way of his vertical follow up. She then sprang onto his back and kicked off his shoulders, drawing Tawny in for a mighty punch that sent him backwards. Tawny hit the ground and grabbed River this time, bringing River crashing down on the spearman causing a shockwave as he was forced head first into the ground.

Baton guy was in my face suddenly. "Where are you looking during a battle?" as a mirror I followed his movements in a flash and started another clash with him.

A loud explosion from behind me and a gasp in pain alerted me that Silver had taken care of her attacker with the lightning she had charged into her lance.

"That's three members of team RAVN down for the count. Looks like this battle is over," Port said over the intercom.

I grappled my opponent and held him there for a few moments as he tried to overpower me. "Nothing is over while im still standing," he said, clicking a button on the handle of his baton the blade spun around and was suddenly a few inches from my chest. He pushed harder and started to force it down. I felt my aura rush to the tip and create a barrier to protect me but then I heard something behind me. Crackling, rapid footsteps, and the all to familiar sound of plates of silver brushing against each other. I held him for a moment longer before falling backwards off my feet, putting a knee to his chest and kicking him over me. Sure enough Silver was there shield raised and spear behind her. Electricity flowed around her and lit up her armor, eyes and hair, giving them a bluish hue. The last remaining member slammed into her shield, the electricity discharged forward and he was sent flying into the barrier that surrounded the arena, signaling a ring out. I picked myself up as Silver smashed the butt end of her lance against the ground and dispelled the electricity that remained in her system.

A moment later the twins emerged from the grasslands. River and Tawny stepped out brushing seeds and strands of grass that had attached themselves to the girls armor, stopping as they reached us.

"Team STRM wins by knock out!" Port announced loudly, before turning to Oobleck and started rambling on about the turning points and this and that.

"Nicely done everyone," Silver said depositing her shield and lance in the holster on her back.

"Thanks for the assist, Silver, he took me by surprise when that blade spun around," that would have ended badly without you," she nodded at me and we turned to the twins. "I saw you two near the end there. That was some brutal team work as usual."

"Nah, those guys were easy. They weren't as fast as you and they didn't work together very well," Tawny said placing her hands behind her head.

"Indeed, their team in general lacked any sort of cooperation and failed to adapt to any situation presented," River concluded, tilting her head. "Makes me wonder how they have survived this long as a team."

"It doesn't matter, let's get off the arena so they can get set for the next round," Silver said turning around and leading the way towards the same tunnel we entered on. "We need to decide who we are sending to the next round. Mir, you're buying lunch." I sighed and fell in beside her as the twins followed us out.

"Yay, thank you Mir!" Tawny shouted. River tried to argue saying that maybe she should pay this time but a quick, sharp glance from Silver silenced her.

"I always buy lunch."

"True but you're on a team of all girls. No proper gentleman would make a girl buy her lunch." She turned her head to me and winked. I had buying lunch since we became a team… and these girls ate more than I did. I was supposed to be saving my money for after school. Instead I was barely managing to feed myself and my team members.

"… What do we want to eat?"

 **This is a test chapter to see what people think of this idea and this team of OC's. I appreciate anything anyone has to say about it good or bad. I have to many projects going right now to be trying to write something that no one wants to read or is a bad idea. So again let me know what you as the reader think and I'll catch you in the next one. Eternal out.**


	2. Chapter 2

Origin Part One

Nothing stirred in my surroundings as I walked deep within Forever Fall. Grim were active in this area more than anywhere else in Vale. Reports had come in about an unusual amount of Grimm activity and a sighting of an unusual huntsman who was hostile to other huntsman and huntresses who tried to approach. I took an interest when Ozpin showed me the reports and set out to find this huntsman. All that was known is that he sports a set of white armor with bronze trim, a shield to match and a long lance. Even some experienced huntsmen and huntresses have claimed to barely have made it out of here alive. But my team had transferred and I needed members.

I spotted grim through the trees as they roamed here and there while moving in a single direction. Crouching against a tree I observed them more closely, Beowolfs, Ursa, and Creeps all on the prowl searching for the source of anger and hatred that was drawing them to this place. They were slowly moving away from me and spread out to cover as much ground as possible. That's when one of the Beowolfs stopped and turned his nose to towards a figure that was slowly walking towards them so brush. The figure stopped as he entered a spot of sunlight. At the sight of the white armor I knew I had found who I was looking for, the reports were wrong though. This was no huntsman, she was a huntress, and by the look of the k9 ears on her head, she was also a Faunus.

The Beowolf that noticed her first howled, calling all the other grim to him and charged the Faunus. I stayed still and watched from where I hid as she drew her lance and shield and slew the first grim to reach her before dropping into her stance and going to work with her own battle cry. She moved with the grace and speed of seasoned huntress, slaying all the beowolfs and dancing around the Ursa and creeps. Even with that heavy armor she moved very fast, almost to the point that I had to really focus on her movements to catch them all. More and more Grimm appeared as she slaughtered them. I heard an Ursa roar from behind me and without looking I leapt from cover, and rolled to my feet as it swung an enormous paw and knocked the tree over like it was made of paper. I drew Masterpiece from my thigh and triggered the ice dust, giving my two and a half foot blade another two feet of reach without activating the reaction catalyst within it. The grim split and started attacking both me and the Faunus girl.

I took my Masterpiece in both hands and started tearing away at the creatures that attacked my semblance took the Faunus's aggressive fighting style and made it my own. Tearing away at the weaker enemies while dodging around the larger until I had a moment to take out the larger ones. At one point I ended up close to the girl and almost seamlessly we switched, turning easily around each other without touching and started working on the others Grimm. It took time, and I was happy had mirrored this girl because she never took a hit and in turn neither did I. We finished the fight without much difficulty when the horde finally stopped. I dispelled the ice from around Masterpiece and clipped it back to my thigh before turning to the Faunus girl. She pulled her lance from the massive Ursa it rested in and looked at me with a cold gaze.

She was my age, and quite beautiful. Her armor and weapons were polished and flawless only further entertaining the fact that she was a force to be reckoned with, even without her semblance, which was still a mystery. "I didn't need your help, _Human._ " She said turning to me giving me a gaze of ice.

"I know, I didn't intend to help, but apparently my hiding spot wasn't good enough." I replied trying to lighten the mood.

"No it wasn't. I was aware of you before I even encountered the Grimm," she took a few steps towards me and stopped five feet from me. "Which brings me to my next question, What are you here for? Your too far away to be with the academy, and a traveler wouldn't have been able to handle himself as well as you did at our age."

I tilted my head slightly. "You were able to hold your own by yourself."

"This has been my life for as long as I can remember, fighting Grimm and for the rights of my kind against you humans." If it was possible for her to be any colder than it had just happened, the air was almost crackling with her hatred. But her words hit a familiar cord. She was fighting for equality… as a member of the White Fang.

I narrowed my eyes at her and became serious. "You are a member of the White Fang?"

She followed suit and even snarled. "I once was, even when they turned to violence I learned to fight. But in this state their methods are no better than you humans. You have one more chance to answer my question." The sun went out as thick clouds covered the area with their dark mass. The storm that had been miles away before was suddenly here… on a day with no breeze? The air was heated now, as if matching her anger and hatred for my presence. It wasn't my intention to lie so I was blunt.

"I'm here, for you." She lundged forward, shield and lance forward. She was to close for me to react fast enough to dodge and her shield slammed into me throwing me into a tree some good fifteen feet behind me. I kept my eyes on the girl as she charged forward again this time her lance would strike me. I turned out of the way and heard her lance splinter the tree as I jumped into the air and kicked out at her. She had her shield up and deflected my kick to the side with ease, drawing her lance back and striking at me again. I flipped backwards and landed again on my hands, springing away as best I could and getting to my feet just fast enough to dodge her next attack.

I mirrored her aggressive stance and started moving similarly to her, keeping myself out of the way of her strikes and attacking in counter; moving her lance aside with my arm I through a fist that she easily parried with her shield. As soon as my fist hit her shield I transitioned into a kick on her lance side. She saw it coming and in one clean motion blocked my fist and maneuvered her shield under her lance to guard from my kick before shield bashing me away and striking at my chest with her lance.

Again I was forced to retreat only this time I drew Masterpiece as I landed and was ready for her. But surprisingly she was standing where I had left her, shield was up to guard her chest but she wasn't aggressive at that moment. She wasn't even winded, after the fight with the Grimm and our little fight she had yet to be hit and was breathing evenly. The worst part was that I still didn't have a read on her semblance, if she was using it already I hadn't been able to pick up on it but I was almost certain she hadn't used it yet.

"The difference in our levels should be abundantly clear. Leave now or you won't be able to," she said with an even cold voice. I didn't move except to change my stance and trigger the fire dust to engulf Masterpiece in flames, activating the reaction catalyst to start heating up. The Faunus narrowed her eyes and adjusted her stance slightly. "You wish to die?"

"I have no intention of dying here. But just in case, may I ask your name?"

She hesitated for a moment but sighed. "My name is Morte, after my hair and what my parents believed I would bring to the enemies of the White fang."

"Such a name for someone so young. I'm sorry you've had to live with that burden on your shoulders."

"I haven't gone by that name since I left the White Fang. I am nameless now and will be until I find a purpose."

"May a dead man make one more request?"

She laughed and shrugged. "Why not."

"I would like to make a deal with you." I offered slowly starting to walk to my right. She mirrored my motion and kept me on the other side of her shield. She stared at me for a few paces before nodding. "If I lose and you don't kill me I will grant you any wish that is within my power. But if I win you will do the same for me as well."

We were standing opposite where we were and she laughed, long and hearty. The only emotion I had seen that wasn't cold. "You must think very highly of yourself now that your using your weapon. Oh fine. I accept this wager of yours. It gives me incentive not to kill you so I can take advantage of you and your position within the human world. Though the way I figure it your probably just a second year at the academy. What if I order you to end your own life for my enjoyment?" she said with a sadistic grin on her face.

I felt the Catalyst within Masterpiece start to warm up from the heat of the dust. I had another few minutes until it would be ready to combine all three types of dust into its ultimate attack. "It is within my power, I will comply with any request if I lose. Just as I expect of you should I win."

She narrowed her eyes and stopped pacing. I stopped as well and stared at her. All traces of her previous humor were gone. "Very well dead man, I accept your wager." As if on cue rain started to fall over us and the distant sound of thunder growled across the sky. Steam rose from my sword as the drops hit the blade of Masterpiece and fizzed out. Morte lowered into her stance for just a moment and lunged forward.

I lunged as well and the clash began. Her attacks changed from simple and powerful stabs with her lance to slashes and she even two handed it at moments, spinning it around and striking with the butt end of shaft. I parried most of her attacks with Masterpiece and struck just as often as she did. Her shield was always in the way, except when she attached it to her thigh to two hand her lance. We didn't retreat, we stayed close for a long time, sidestepping if we needed an extra amount of space for the next attack. All the while I kept track of the heat within Masterpiece. The heavy rain was taking its toll and the few minutes stretched to almost double.

Finally we separated after a heavy shield bash that I blocked sent me skidding backwards a few paces. "I must admit, something has changed since I took up your weapon. But it is time to end this. The night is approaching and I don't want to be caught in this rain all night." The crackling and heat in the atmosphere was back so suddenly that I hesitated for a moment.

Raising her lance to the sky she closed her eyes and let out a breath. I waited for her semblance to finally be revealed to me. The moment seemed to draw out for too long but finally in a shocking moment of realization it happened. Lightning struck the lance and flooded her armor and weapons with blue lightning as it mingled with her aura. She glowed as it circulated through her armor and lightning was even flaking off her as the rain got close to her and it arced between drops around her before reconnecting with her armor. When she opened her eyes I was frozen in awe. Her white eyes glowed with a blue hue that truly showed the interconnectedness of the lightning and her being.

She thrust her spear towards me without taking any steps towards me. The tip was nowhere near me and I thought I was safe, and therefore was hit full force when the three separate arcs of lightning smashed into me. They surged through me and threw me through two trees with the force of the strike. I crumbled against the third tree and slowly pushed myself up on shaking limbs. I heard her foot falls as she approached me. the light she emitted only brought fear as its glow grew stronger.

"How's your aura after that?" She asked standing at the ready but her shield and lance were at her sides. "I hear you students at the academy get devices that can measure your aura." I reached into my pocket and opened my scroll. I was low but not beaten, but another attack like that wouldn't end well for me. But I now knew her sembence and if I could activate it then I could defend myself.

"Better than you think, worst than I'd like," I replied turning to face her and stumbling away from the tree to stand on my own and get some distance.

"Would you like to give up. There is no shame in refusing to fight an opponent that is out of your league," she said with confidence and almost warmth in it.

I mirrored her semblance and felt the lightning within her as a physical thing as well as what lingered in the clouds above. I maneuvered what energy I could in the clouds into another bolt of lightning and channeled it towards me. "I intend to fight for as long as I can." I said with a grin.

I could see it in her face a moment later that she felt what I was doing. A moment later the lightning I had channeled struck me and mixed with my aura. I was numb for a moment and expected to be shaking, but the when feeling returned to my limbs I felt invigorated. It had hit me with such force I expected to have my aura drained but when I checked my scroll I could see that it hadn't moved.

Morte was looking at me in stunned shock. "How," was all she could say.

"My name is Mirror. I reflect what is shown to me. In this case, I reflect you." She hardened her face and dropped into her stance, shield up in front of her. I saw lightning gather into her lance for a moment. I tried to do the same but I couldn't channel the lightning into my weapon, so instead I channeled it into my left arm and waited to see what her move would be.

In a wide her she swung her lance, lightning launched from the tip and slashed three tree trunks as it swung towards me as a physical blade. I did a similar movement but vertically towards the incoming arc. They collided and stopped each other, cancelling each other out and vanishing in an explosion of thunder that rocked us both off balance momentarily. Masterpiece was almost ready just another minute or two and I had a very good chance to end this… as long as I didn't miss.

With a warcry Morte stated launching lightning at me. I replied in kind as our forks of lightning splashed into each other the vanished in thunder claps that were like punches to my entire body with each one. But I didn't back down, if she hit me with even one of those bolts the thunderclap that resulted would be around me and probably kill me if it was strong enough.

We both ran out of charge at the same time and instead of recharging she dispelled the little that remained by smashing the butt end of her lance into the ground, casting it into the earth. I did the same but with my foot. Masterpiece was ready and with a swing I launched the flames that had surrounded it at her in the form of three fireballs. She parried them easily enough with her shield and stayed at the ready as I spread my stance, turned my body and rested the blade of Masterpiece on the crook of my bent arm. She narrowed her eyes but stayed still, waiting for my next move. I could feel her channeling more lightning but kept it far enough away just in case.

I triggered all three dust chambers and saw the red, white, and green dust fill their tubes leading into the catalyst within the blade. Runes appeared along the blade of Masterpiece in shifty grey lettering. It was ready and I felt the heat within Masterpiece skyrocket. I could only hold this for half a minute before the catalyst would breakdown and explode.

Morte and I remained motionless. Her k9 senses were likely telling her to be cautious but if she waited to long I would miss my chance and my defeat would be certain. I tilted my head slightly and she twitched her eye. Ten seconds left. Nothing.

Eight seconds. Nothing.

Five Seconds. Her eye twitched again.

Three seconds she slid her front foot slowly forward. _Come on._

Last chance. I saw her back foot twitch and I moved.

Releasing the triggers that fed dust into the catalyst and thrust Masterpiece forward. The combined dust through the catalyst became an extension. In the blink of an eye the phantom blade that shot forward pierced through her shield, armor and aura and stopped halfway through her body. Morte's eyes were wide as she looked at the blade that pierced her side of her stomach. She looked back at me and slumped to a knee as the blade disappeared. Blood seeped out of the wound and out of her armor. The shock wore off and she clutched at her stomach and screamed her pain to the sky.

Masterpiece was steaming from the cold rain as the drops hit it and instantly evaporated from the heat. I triggered the ice just enough for a layer to cover the surface entirely as I clipped it to my thigh. My hand was on red and steaming itself it would blister, but I was fine otherwise.

Morte's pain filled screams brought me back and I ran the distance to her side and touched her shoulder but she shoved me off and stood. "I'm… not done… with you… yet!" She lifted her lance and winced from the pain. Blood shot from the wound as she moved and collapsed to the ground. I went back to her side and found her unconscious. She wasn't used to the pain and it was proving to be to much for her system to take right now.

I took her shield and lance and strapped them to her back before picking her up and positioning her on my back. She was heavy with that armor and I needed to get her out of the rain. I remembered a shack back the way I had come and headed towards it. They were scattered all over forever fall as safe havens for the nights for travelers. It took some time to find with the rain but I did find it. Kicking open the door I entered and closed it behind me. It was small and empty but it would do for now.

Laying Morte down on the floor I pulled the armor off her torso and looked at the wound through her base layer. It was deep and still bleeding but her aura hadn't been depleted just pierced and it was already trying to heal her. Her face was pale, but she was still breathing. "Your not going to like this…" I pulled Masterpiece and dispelled the ice and triggered the fire to heat up the surface of the blade. After a few minutes I dispelled the fire and touched the blade, burning my finger. I positioned myself as best I could to hold her down. Tying her hands together and holding them above her head before pushing the blade into the wound and cauterizing it.

She jerked beneath me and woke up screaming. But I held her still and pulled the blade out and over the surface to seal it together. She fought me, squirmed and screamed until I pulled the blade away and triggered the ice again, placing it over the wound to soothe the pain. She breathed heavy and stared at me through tear filled eyes.

I climbed out off of her and untied her hands. "I'm sorry. But I had to stop the bleeding," I said holding the frozen blade on her burnt flesh.

She just breathed and held Masterpiece tightly to her skin. Silence hung in the air for a few minutes between us as she calmed down and recovered. "I lost," She finally said, lifting one arm to cover her eyes as she said it. "What is it you want from me?"

"Don't worry about that right now. Sleep for now and when you wake up I'll have my request. I'll take watch tonight so nothing happens." I leaned against the wall of the hut and exhaled ready for a long night. Morte was asleep in minutes and I took Masterpiece back and clipped it to my thigh before taking off my trench coat and hanging it over on a wall hanger to dry. My undershirt was thankfully dry but my pants were soaked through. I searched the room again more slowly and found that there was a fireplace built into the wall. Walking over to it I used Masterpiece to quickly light a fire before encasing it in ice again before settling down for the night.

It was long and Morte slept through it, shifting slightly throughout but eventually the morning came. I could see the sun shining through the cracks in the wooden walls through my eye lids. I heard her wake up and call out to me in annoyance.

"Hey did you fall asleep?"

"No, just resting my eyes and thinking." My jacket was dry and so were my pants having sat close enough through most of the night for them to dry. I opened my heavy eyes and saw that she was sitting up and holding her side. I stood and helped her to her feet.

"I'm fine," she snapped as I reached out to her but I still helped and she didn't try to stop me. "I probably shouldn't snap at you when I owe you a favor." She said barely able to keep the defeat out of her voice.

"I told you I would have your answer when you woke up. I knew what it was last night and there is nothing you can do to change my request." She looked at me with a challenge in her eyes and I grinned. She looked away almost immediately and sighed.

"Ok, what do you want," she said pulling away and testing her feet.

"Simple, I want you to come back to the academy with me and become a member of my team," That earned me a stunned silence as she turned to me and stared. "But you cant be who you are now. You don't want to be this person, someone who kills endlessly and tries to abandon a name that doesn't fit her. Be proud of yourself, of your strength, be someone that will change the things she hates and preserve what she fights for. Come back with me." I turned and grabbed my trench coat from where it hung on the peg and slid it on as she thought about my offer.

"I agreed to a request that was within my power to an arrogant human who that he could challenge someone who was out of his league. Instead you were someone who was holding back until you got what you wanted and then showed me your true strength," she looked away. "I'm still not sure how you copied my semblance."

"I told you. I am a mirror. What is before me I can mimic almost perfectly, but because I am still a different person I am not capable of a perfect reflection. There is always a twist that I can't control or foresee."

"That explains it better than before at least…" She leaned against the wall and gasped when a stab of pain shot through her when she tried to reach for her armor. She took a second and then spoke again. "My name… is Morte. Death, black, a void. I was raised to be strong so that I could fight for the revolution of the Faunus. But I left when I realized what the true face of the White Fang was. They weren't just fighting with words and in competitions to prove their strength. They were killing humans and organizing raids of freights carrying resources needed to defend the safe havens of the world. So I left and have been out here ever since, fighting off huntsman, huntresses and White Fang members that tried to take me back. Once he White Fang know I'm with the academy they will try to take me back or use me as a scapegoat in an attack. I don't want that blood on my hands-"

"Don't worry. The White Fang know you as Morte. To me and to everyone going forward, that person died last night in her sleep. I cant stand calling you… that name. Your aren't those things to me, from the first moment I set my eyes on you I have not thought of you as someone capable of the things that were claimed in the reports."

"Get rid of the name I was born with," she stood up straight and took a deep breath. I walked over to her and picked up her armor for her. She heard the noise and turned to face me as I held up the chest piece. "since we are still on the topic of your request… what would you call me?" She took her armor but I held it tight and kept her eyes on mine. She held my gaze for a few seconds before looking away and blushing from the request. "Never mind, I'll think of-"

"Silver," I said before she could finish and she looked at me as I moved to her side and helped her get it on. "As a metal you can channel lightning with great ease, your heart, though cold and weathered from so long on your own, is still capable of great warmth." I stepped away and made sure she was looking at me before I spoke again. "This is the name I give to you, as the most beautiful and powerful girl I have ever seen." I didn't think before I spoke and only after did I realize what I had said. "Uh .. that is…"

She laughed and blushed briefly before wincing in pain. "Silver… a soft metal of great capability."

"Ya…" I said and walked to the other side of the small space embarrassed. There was a moment of quiet where I heard her shifting and after a moment I heard her sniff in my ear. I jumped and turned to look at her. She leaned in and sniffed again at my chest.

"Ok… I made a deal to honor any request you make of me if it is within my power. I will go back with you as a team member. As Silver." She strapped her shield to her thigh and her lance to her back and headed to the door, stopping at the door momentarily. "You have my trust and my respect. I will follow you for now but if you ever betray me I will kill you." I grinned at her.

"I'll make you another deal. If I ever betray you, I will let you kill me."


	3. Chapter 3

Origin Part 2

I went straight to Ozpins office when we returned, sending him a request to meet with him that he immediately responded. Silver followed close by as she walked unfamiliar halls and people gazed at her with curiosity and some with hostility as they realized she was Faunus. She didn't pay any mind to them but I could tell she wasn't comfortable being inside after years of being in Forever Fall. Taking the elevator up to his office I found him sitting at his desk going through files and sipping from his mug. The many gears in his office continuously rotating.

He closed what he was looking at and gazed at me, slightly taken aback by the Faunus that followed me. "Welcome back, it seems you had a fruitful journey," he said folding his hands in front of his face and put on his evaluating expression. Silver, who had taken a moment to look around at the room, stared back at the headmaster.

"Yes, sir. Professor Ozpin, this is Silver. Silver, meet Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy." I bowed to Silver and stepped out of the way so they could have a moment. Neither spoke for a minute as she sized up the headmaster. Ozpin was the first to react, standing up and walking around to the front of his desk.

"Hello," he said, his face neutral as he spoke to the armored Faunus in front of him. She had refused to stray from her weapons so she stood in his office fully armored and equipped. "You have been living in the forest by yourself?"

"Why, is that a problem?"

"I don't mean to imply anything, I simply wish to get to know you as someone who will be attending at my school," he said in a comforting voice, trying to lighten the mood.

"Your words mean nothing to me human, I am here because Mirror asked me to be after he proved he was trustworthy and powerful enough to show me that I could do something more with my life than just kill Grimm," she looked away from Ozpin and moved away from us.

"I have no doubt that he is your only purpose of coming here. Hopefully he isn't forcing you here," he stopped and shot a glance my way to show he was joking. "I have no prejudice towards the Faunus and am happy to accept any Faunus that want to become huntsman and huntress. But I must be sure they will not be a danger to other students and this school."

Silver looked out the window for a while before replying. "I have no intention of being a danger to anyone at this school," she looked at Ozpin. "You may be ready to accept us Faunus, but many humans are not, even some within your school think of Faunus as lesser beings. And if they threaten me or other Faunus around me, I WILL step in."

"I expect nothing less. I hope the students at my school look after each other and protect each other from each other. Whether they are human or Faunus it is my hope that all the students that pass through here leave as brother and sisters in combat."

"…Fine. I accept your ideals. For now."

Ozpin nods his understanding and turns to me. "Now, I have a submission to enter Beacon here that I think you will want to look at." He looks to the door. "Come in." the door opens and two girls step into the room. Standing at about four feet tall the two girls looked uncannily alike minus their hair and armor color and I look back to Ozpin. "Meet Tawny and River," Both girls stopped in the middle of the room and bowed. "These two were found by a close friend of mine and brought here for lack of a better place to take them."

The girl with blue hair spoke first as the other looked away. "We were in a small village on the border of Vale and Vacuo. Our village was attacked and we were orphaned and almost killed until a man saved and brought us here." She stopped and bowed again. "My name is River, this is my twin sister Tawny."

I looked at Ozpin. "Twins?" i couldn't hide my disbelief. Twins were very rarely born and didn't usually survive. Silver mirrored my disbelief but came out of it much faster.

"Im sorry to hear about your family," she said with a softness to her voice that I had not heard yet.

I saw pain spread across Tawny's face and she walked to the other side of the room while River merely had a sad expression cross her face. "We lived outside the protection of the kingdom. A dangerous choice that our parents made in their lives and that we will never be able to understand, but we are alive and our parents were huntsman and they trained us the best they could. We know our semblances and are ready to start learning to become huntresses if you'll have us."

I stepped forward to speak when Ozpin looked my way. "What is your semblance? If your don't mind me asking of course?"

Tawny had recovered and was the one to respond as she came back to her sisters side. "River and I share our semblances, but since were are two separate people we have two. One of them is strength." She said and looked at River for an explanation on the second.

"The other is what we call puppet master," she demonstrated by raising a hand and flexing her fingers. Three plates flew from Rivers back and hung in the air around her for a moment before moving as she moved her fingers and swung her arm. They demonstrated their ability to both use the semblance by River dropping her arm and keeping her fingers still and Tawny doing something more wild and creative with the same semblance. "It works only with things we are intimately familiar with. We both crafted those plates from our fathers forge that he kept in the back. We can even use each other as puppets."

Without missing a beat the plates were returned to Rivers back and Tawny was promptly thrown into the air as River used both hands to create the connection and move her around the room without any trouble. Silver and I exchanged a look and I looked back at the twins. "Ozpin, what would the new team name be?"

"I look at you all in this room and see a time bomb waiting to happen. Such potential in this room, from now on you will be known as Team STRM. Your leader will be determined after I see your skills."

Ozpin admitted them and bumped them a year after personally examining each of them and seeing their skills. Ultimately he made Silver the leader, as she was the most stead fast and I was surprised that he allowed them to jump an entire year but he made sure they took a few courses during the last week of break so their history and Grimm knowledge was at least on par with second years, thankfully they had experience in the field so they knew a lot about the Grimm and were able to focus more on history. I had people around me that wouldn't abandon me again without very good reason and I wasn't willing to give them that reason. Within a week we become a close knit team. Spending what remained of the break to learn about each other and build our relationship as a team.

Silver and I only became closer as she learned more about my past and how I saw the world. River and Silver were instant friends, talking about different ways that the current status of the world could be changed and the steps we as a team needed to take to make Silvers goals a reality. Tawny became the child of the group, fun, energetic and easily entertained; she would often sit on my shoulders when we went to explore the city of Vale and Beacon as a whole. By the time the year started Tawny and River could throw Silver and me around with their Puppet master semblance, though Silver absolutely hated the feeling of not being in control of her own movements and hated not being connected to the ground.

The week before the semester started I took the liberty of repairing the damage to Silvers armor from our battle, starting with the shield. I did it under the shroud of night so she could wake up to the surprise. Only it didn't go over very well. She was thankful for the repair to her shield but made me promise not to fix her stomach plate.

When I insisted that with her armor compromised it wade for an easy target for foes to use against her. "Let them. You created the only weakness I have ever known and with it you showed me that I could trust you, a human. When I see it I am reminded that you could have killed me, left me to bleed in the rain like an animal not worthy of an honorable death. But you picked me up armor and all and made sure I survived. I want to be able to remember that, and keeping the hole that your blade created will remind me every time I see it."

I hated the idea that she wanted a reminder of what I did to her. I hated the feelin I got in my stomach every time I looked at her and saw the perfect scar on her armor where Masterpiece had pierced through and buried itself with in her body. But I couldn't bring myself to argue with the Faunus on the subject any further.

From that point the semester went on slowly the rest of the teams of year two warmed up to my new team. Wondering where they had come from at first and eager to show the new kids the ropes and how skill level was what determined your worth as a student and a peer. Team CFVY was the first to warm up to us when Yatsuhashi battled Silver in our first sparing class of the semester. Yatsuhashi was easily one of the best fighters of year two. Being able to pack a serious punch and take a lot of hits without being thrown off balance. Even I had yet to beat the gentle giant, his size and strength were far greater than mine.

It started with Silver dodging around Yatsuhashi's great swings and attacks, feeling out his movements. They were slow and easy to dodge but Silver figured out first hand just how heavy they were when she drew her shield and tried to block an upward slash. Her shield arm crushed to her body and she was lifted into the air and launch backwards with ease. She didn't make that mistake a second time. The battle was easy for her once she drew her lance and went to work. chipping away at Yatsuhashi and keeping him on defense until finally she got a powerful hit in that knocked the beast off his feat.

It was then that Yatsuhashi started taking the fight at its fullest. Using his patented shockwave ability to surprise Silver once again, launching her away when she dodged the initial strike but was met by the shockwave that followed. I had been hit by that attack my far share of times, it always did a number and standing up afterwards wasn't easy. But Silver was on her feet, slightly disoriented and wobbly, but on her feet. Yatsuhashi took no pity and attacked again, closing the distance before Silver could fully recover and slashing horizontally. She did something that not many would think to do against such a large opponent. She lunged forward towards the opposite side of Yatsuhashi's sword and spun around, bringing her shield to bare against the backswing of the beasts attack and was thrown away.

With one last attack Yatsuhashi brought his sword up and slammed it down on the Faunus who was just rolling back to her feet. She tried to block it and stay out of the shockwaves affect, but the weight of the strike nearly crushed her under it. As she used both arms against her shield just to hold the sword in place. It was Glynda who called who called an end to the match at that point, Silver was almost out of aura after taking so much punishment and was relieved to feel Yatsuhashi lift the sword from her shield. From then on our two teams spent a lot more time together. Becoming closer friends, studying and sparing against each other at every opportunity we had.


End file.
